Paderewski Festival – Youth Competition Winners’ Recital

It was standing room only this afternoon in the Ballroom of the Paso Robles Inn as a distinguished audience gathered to hear a recital by the winners of the 2010 Paderewski Youth Competition. Festival President Joel Peterson greeted the guests, thanked them for their support of the Festival, and introduced several of the guests from Poland. On stage was a fine Steinway concert grand provided by Sherman Clay, thanks to the support of Sherman Clay representative David Dumont.

After the brief welcoming ceremonies we had an opportunity to hear the winners of the 2010 Youth Competition.

First Place Winner in the Senior Division Jordan Adams, 15, from Monterey, a pupil of Lyn Bronson of Carmel, performed Paderewski’s Chant d’Amour and Chopin’s Polonaise in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 26, No. 1.

Second Place Winner in the Senior Division Kevin Lin, 14, from Monterey, a pupil of Lyn Bronson of Carmel, performed Scriabin’s Etude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 2, No. 1, and “Montagues and Capulets” from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.

Third Place Winner in the Senior Division Max Eisendrath, 17, from San Luis Obispo, a pupil of Dr. Botso Korisheli of Morro Bay, performed all three movements of Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, K.330.

First Place Winner in the Junior Division Gianna Zufall, 13, a pupil of Hans Boepple of San Jose, performed the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata in G Major, Op. 79.

Second Place Winner in the Junior Division Madeline Anderson, 14, a pupil of Lyn Bronson of Carmel, performed Chopin’s Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp Minor.

Third Place Winner in the Junior Division Evan Lin, 13, a pupil of Alan Boehmer, performed Mendelssohn’s Scherzo in E Minor.

Winner of an Honorable Mention in the Junior Division Daniel Ha, 10, , a resident of San Luis Obispo, performed Kabalevsky’s Etude in A Minor from Op. 27.

After the performance, the winners were recalled to the stage to be presented with awards and medals. Local and Polish TV stations had cameramen and reporters on hand to film parts of the ceremony, as did local press from Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo.

Distinguished guest representing the Republic of Poland, Consul General of Los Angeles, Honorable Joanna Kozińska-Frybes congratulated the winning students and presented each of them with a copy of Marek Zebrowski’s new book, Chopin & Paderewski. Mr. Zebrowski graciously personally signed each of the performers’ copies.

As Festival President Joel Peterson proudly noted, thanks to the hard work of so many unpaid workers, including the Festival Board and staff, plus the incomparable contribution of Marek Zebrowski, the Festival continues to grow in stature and significance each year, but in these difficult times contributions are needed more than ever.